Process heaters are required in many industrial applications in refineries, chemical plants, steel mills, etc. They are needed for processing and separating raw materials into usable products. A process heater may be very large, for example, 70 feet high and 50 feet in diameter, and produce temperatures in the range of 1000.degree. F. to 2500.degree. F., depending upon the application. The heater generally utilizes an outer heater skin made of metal with the inside of the heater structure being completely lined with heater brick, refractory or the like. Heater brick is laid one brick at a time whereas refractory is blown onto the skin by machine and creates a solid wall.
During its operational life the heater is repeatedly cycled through its temperature extremes which, in time, causes the brick to become loose and pull away from the skin because of the constant expansion and contraction. This, in turn, results in heat loss which eventually reaches an unacceptable point and requires repair work on the wall.
The invention is directed to a method and apparatus for repairing such damage in an expeditious manner, but which is acceptable engineering-wise and which results in minimum expense and downtime.